Paul Krugman: The Great Health Care Coverup (NY Times Blog)
The moral rot in the Republican party runs wide as well as deep. All we need to save America is a few good men - but apparently all we have are two decent women. And that's not enough.
Why I'm A Conservative - And Republicans Aren't
"I have occasionally questioned why we let Republicans get away with calling themselves "conservatives" when they don't seek to "conserve" anything except the bank accounts of the very richest people, and their program is one of the destruction of time-honored programs, practices, and principles. Mitch McConnell's systematic dismantling of Senate norms is a good example of this." - Jim Burt
Garrison Keillor: A new idea about Amelia Earhart (Washington Post)
At the age of 75, I'm coming to realize that I may never know for certain what happened to Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, on their round-the-world flight that disappeared in the South Pacific in July 1937. I have been in love with her forever and it's painful to have no resolution, only the same old theories.
Globophobia is a fear of balloons. The source of fear may be the sound of balloons popping.
Globophobia is uncommon, but sufferers include Oprah Winfrey, So Ji-sub, and Doug Stanhope. Generally, globophobics will refuse to touch, feel, or go near a balloon for fear it will pop.
Source
Mark. was first and correct with:
Globophobia is fear of balloons.
Randall wrote:
balloons
Alan J said:
Fear of Balloons.
David of Moon Valley replied:
Happy 'Birthday', Marty!
fear of balloons?!
Jim from CA, retired to ID, responded:
Globophobia is a fear of balloons.
Gene said:
Balloons. I saw a sight rather like this going to work one morning several years ago. Shifting point of view kept me from getting an accurate count.
zorch wrote:
Fear of Balloons
Dale in Heating up again Diamond Springs, Norcali answered:
Balloons…Thank you Marty for your continuing diligence as we trudge through this dystopian era of chaos and destruction of our freedoms!
Deborah responded:
You'd think from the name it's the fear of globes. Nope - fear of balloons.
Around here we have many hot air balloons, most out of Napa, that take off from a town 11 miles north of us and drift south and east into the outskirts of our city. Often they land in vacant fields close to where I live. They're fun to watch. Once, one was really close, and you could hear the whoosh of the gas jet. My friend's Great Dane freaked out and hid under her dining room table. We laughed so hard at that. Now I know the dog had globophobia.
Happy Birthday! Can't believe it's been 16 years already! Gosh, the kids grow up so fast…(c;
Kevin K. in Washington, DC replied:
Well, I looked it up and I know it's balloons. But I'm sticking with my
original answer, which is: Balls. Fear of balls; a malady that appears to
have befallen the GOP, as they fail to find the balls to stand up to Trump.
Billy in Cypress said:
Globophobia is the fear of balloons popping.
Joe S wrote:
As everyone knows it is the irrational fear of balloons. I am NOT afraid of balloons, unless they are tied to, or being held by clowns. I am also afraid of clowns, with or without balloons. Clowns are just plain creepy. That is not an irrational fear, clowns.
Happy birthday to the E Page Marty! I haven't been with you for the entire 16 years but it's been close. Thanks for all you do.
Patriot Act NSA Spying Unconstitutional Section 215 National Security Letters Must End
My name is Marc Perkel and I have decided to announce that I will not comply with the so called "Patriot Act" laws requiring me to disclose information about my customers. If I receive a national security letter I will immediately photograph it, post it online everywhere I can, and then make a video of me burning it. I will then await my arrest. If you want to put me in jail then come get me mother fucker.
Big thanks to Dale of Diamond Springs and David in Moon Valley for the birthday non-insults.
Tonight, Thursday:
CBS opens the night with a RERUN'Big Bang Theory', followed by a RERUN'Kevin Can Wait', then a FRESH'Big Brother', followed by a FRESH'Zoo'.
Scheduled on a FRESHStephen Colbert are Samantha Bee, Gillian Jacobs, and Spoon.
Scheduled on a FRESHJames Corden, OBE, are Matt Bomer, Niecy Nash, Brendan Gleeson, and Julia Michaels.
NBC begins the night with a FRESH'Hollywood Game Night', followed by a FRESH'The Wall', then a FRESH'The Night Shift'.
Scheduled on a FRESHJimmy Fallon are Michael Strahan, Jill Kargman, and Slayer.
Scheduled on a FRESHSeth Meyers are Tyra Banks, Kyle Mooney, OneRepublic, and Brad Wilk.
On a RERUNCarson 'The Scab' Daly (from 4/27/17) are Jonah Ray, Bonobo, and J.D. Dillard.
ABC starts the night with a FRESH'Boy Band', followed by a FRESH'Battle Of The Network Stars', then a FRESH'The Gong Show'.
On a RERUNJimmy Kimmel (from 7/17/17) are Billy Crystal, Chris Bianco, and Casey James Salengo.
The CW offers a FRESH'Penn & Teller: Fool Us', followed by a FRESH'Hooten & The Lady'.
Faux has a FRESH'Beat Shazam', followed by a FRESH'Love Connection'.
MY recycles an old 'Bones', followed by another old 'Bones'.
A&E has 'The First 48', another 'The First 48', followed by a FRESH'The First 48', then a FRESH'Akil The Fugitive', followed by another FRESH'Akil The Fugitive'.
AMC offers the movie 'GoodFellas', followed by the movie 'The Princess Bride', then the movie 'The Karate Kid'.
BBC -
[6:00AM] DOCTOR WHO - SEASON 4 - EPISODE 10-Midnight
[7:00AM] DOCTOR WHO - SEASON 4 - EPISODE 11-Turn Left
[8:00AM] DOCTOR WHO - SEASON 4 - EPISODE 12-The Stolen Earth-Part 1.
[9:00AM] DOCTOR WHO - SEASON 4 - EPISODE 13-Journey's End-Part 2.
[10:00AM] DOCTOR WHO: THE END OF TIME - Part 1 & 2.
[11:00AM] DOCTOR WHO - SEASON 4 - EPISODE 10-Midnight
[12:00PM] MAN VS. WILD - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 10-Oregon
[1:00PM] MAN VS. WILD - SEASON 4 - EPISODE 1-Alabama
[2:00PM] MAN VS. WILD - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 2-The Deep South
[3:00PM] MAN VS. WILD - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 7-Mount Kilauea
[4:00PM] MAN VS. WILD - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 10-Everglades
[5:00PM] MAN VS. WILD - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 1-Arizona
[6:00PM] MAN VS. WILD - SEASON 4 - EPISODE 4-Texas
[7:00PM] MAN VS. WILD - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 4-South Dakota
[8:00PM] MAN VS. WILD - SEASON 6 - EPISODE 9-Red Rock Country
[9:00PM] MAN VS. WILD - SEASON 4 - EPISODE 8-Big Sky Country
[10:00PM] MAN VS. WILD - SEASON 4 - EPISODE 5-Alaska
[11:00PM] MAN VS. WILD - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 10-Oregon
[12:00AM] MAN VS. WILD - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 2-The Deep South
[1:00AM] MAN VS. WILD - SEASON 4 - EPISODE 1-Alabama
[2:00AM] MAN VS. WILD - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 7-Mount Kilauea
[3:00AM] MAN VS. WILD - SEASON 1 - EPISODE 10-Everglades
[4:00AM] MAN VS. WILD - SEASON 4 - EPISODE 4-Texas
[5:00AM] MAN VS. WILD - SEASON 3 - EPISODE 4-South Dakota (ALL TIMES EDT)
Bravo has 'Million Dollar Listing NY', another 'Million Dollar Listing NY', followed by a FRESH'Million Dollar Listing NY', 'Real Housewives Of OC', then a FRESH'Watch What Happens Live'.
Comedy Central has 'Futurama', 'South Park', another 'South Park', still another 'South Park', and 2 hours of old 'Tosh.0'.
Scheduled on a FRESHThe Daily Show is Masha Gessen.
Scheduled on a FRESH@Midnight are Mac DeMarco, Amanda Seales, and Brett Gelman.
FX has the movie 'The Gambler', followed by the movie 'Jack Reacher'.
History has 'Mountain Men', followed by a FRESH'Mountain Men: Fully Loaded', then a FRESH'Mountain Men', followed by a FRESH'Alone'.
IFC -
[6:00AM] ALIENS VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM
[8:00AM] PET SEMATARY TWO
[10:15AM] PET SEMATARY
[12:45PM] PET SEMATARY TWO
[3:00PM] PET SEMATARY
[5:30PM] HOUSE OF WAX
[8:00PM] JURASSIC PARK
[11:00PM] THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK
[2:00AM] JURASSIC PARK III
[4:00AM] JURASSIC PARK III (ALL TIMES EDT)
Sundance -
[6:30AM] The Andy Griffith Show-Up in Barney's Room
[7:05AM] The Andy Griffith Show-Citizen's Arrest
[7:40AM] The Andy Griffith Show-Opie and His Merry Men
[8:15AM] The Andy Griffith Show-Barney and the Cave Rescue
[8:50AM] The Andy Griffith Show-Andy and Opie's Pal
[9:25AM] The Andy Griffith Show-Aunt Bee the Crusader
[10:00AM] For Keeps
[12:30PM] You've Got Mail
[3:00PM] Law & Order-Night and Fog
[4:00PM] Law & Order-Promises to Keep
[5:00PM] Law & Order-Animal Instinct
[6:00PM] Law & Order-Jurisdiction
[7:00PM] Law & Order-Virus
[8:00PM] Law & Order-Harvest
[9:00PM] Law & Order-Nullification
[9:59PM] Law & Order-Baby, It's You
[10:58PM] Law & Order-Blood
[11:57PM] Law & Order-Shadow
[12:56AM] Law & Order-Burned
[1:55AM] Cleverman-Skin
[3:00AM] Stepmom (ALL TIMES EDT)
SyFy has the movie 'GI Joe: Retaliation', followed by the movie 'Immortals', then the movie 'I, Frankenstein'.
TBS:
On a RERUNConan (from 5/25/17) are Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tony Hale, Anna Chlumsky, Reid Scott, Matt Walsh, Kevin Dunn, Gary Cole, Sam Richardson, and Mastodon.
Smoke fills the sky above a burning hillside as tourists relax on the beach in Bormes-les-Mimosas, in the Var department, France, July 26, 2017.
Photo by Jean-Paul Pelissier
The network announced Wednesday that Stewart will return to the network for his first stand-up special since 1996.
Stewart is also set to host the "Night of Too Many Stars" tribute in November benefiting Next for Autism, which will feature sketches, short film and standup comedy.
HBO president of programming Casey Bloys said Stewart's two upcoming appearances are "part of a larger deal" the network has with the entertainer, but he did not elaborate.
In this Saturday, July 22, 2017 photo, Canadian Coast Guard Capt. Victor Gronmyr looks out over the ice covering the Victoria Strait as the Finnish icebreaker MSV Nordica traverses the Northwest Passage through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
Photo by David Goldman
Emmy-nominated actor Jason Bateman was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Wednesday, 30 years after breaking into the movies in "Teen Wolf Too."
"Friends" star Jennifer Aniston, who appeared in five films with Bateman, and Will Arnett, his cast mate on television's "Arrested Development," gave speeches paying tribute to his staying power.
"I just simply feel very, very grateful and fortunate to have had a chance to hold my job in a business that's not known for its longevity," said the 48-year-old actor.
He added that he felt lucky "being able to work with enough good people to not only learn an enormous amount, but to find in them some friends that have changed the way I see the world."
A jury on Wednesday found that Michael Jackson's estate owes Quincy Jones $9.4 million in royalties and production fees from "Billie Jean," ''Thriller" and more of the superstar's biggest hits.
The award from a Los Angeles Superior Court jury fell short of the $30 million the legendary producer sought in the lawsuit filed nearly four years ago. The Jackson estate had put the figure at about $392,000.
Jones claimed in the lawsuit that Jackson's estate and Sony Music Entertainment owed him for music he had produced that was used in the concert film "This Is It" and two Cirque du Soleil shows that used Jackson's songs.
The lawsuit said the entities had improperly re-edited the songs to deprive Jones of royalties and production fees, and that he had a contractual right to take first crack at any re-edit or remix.
The Jackson camp held that Jones should only be paid licensing fees for songs used in those three productions. Jones claimed he was entitled to a share of the overall receipts from them. The estate had no immediate comment on the verdict.
Flames and smoke fill the sky above a burning hillside as tourists swim on the beach in Bormes-les-Mimosas, in the Var department, France, July 26, 2017.
Photo by Jean-Paul Pelissier
It was a woolly ride, but three wild rabbits managed to escape rising floodwaters in New Zealand by clambering aboard sheep and surfing to safety on their backs.
Ferg Horne, 64, says he's been farming since he left school at age 15 and has never seen anything quite like it.
He was trudging through pelting rain to rescue a neighbor's 40 sheep from the floodwaters on Saturday at their South Island farm near Dunedin when he spotted some dark shapes from a distance.
He was puzzled because he knew his neighbor, who was away in Russia attending a nephew's wedding, didn't have any black-faced sheep. As he got closer, he thought it might be debris from the storm, which had drenched the area and forced Horne to evacuate his home.
Then he saw the bedraggled rabbits hitching a ride - two on one sheep and a third on another sheep.
Scientists are "very worried" that the Greenland ice sheet might start to melt "faster and faster", a leading scientist has said.
The problem is that the warmer weather is allowing more dark algae to grow on the ice.
Because ice is white, it reflects much of the sun's energy, but dark algae absorb the heat, increasing the rate of melting.
The Greenland ice sheet is up to 3km thick and would raise sea levels by seven metres if it all melted into the sea. The current rate of melting is adding about 1mm a year to the global average sea level.
Now a team of scientists has begun a new five-year research project, called Black and Bloom, to discover how algal growth might affect this, BBC News reported .
U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry (R-Dim Bulb) optimistically discussed expanding American coal exports to Ukraine and other energy matters during a lengthy phone call this month with a Russian prankster who Perry thought was Ukraine's prime minister.
Perry actually was talking with comedians known in Russia for targeting celebrities and politicians with audacious stunts, Energy Department spokeswoman Shaylyn Hynes said in a written statement.
Pranksters Vladimir Krasnov and Alexei Stolyarov are sometimes called the "Jerky Boys of Russia," after an American duo who put out recordings of their prank phone calls in the 1990s. They have made faux calls to British singer Elton John, who thought he was speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and others.
During the 22-minute call on July 19, Perry, whose department oversees the U.S. nuclear weapons program, discussed a range of topics in a business-like tone, including sanctions against Russia and helping Ukraine develop oil and gas.
Perry also discussed the Paris climate accord and coal exports on the call.
Pro-Putin Congressman Accused Of Violating Sanctions
Rohrabacher
A new complaint filed with the Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control alleges that California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Reprehensible) and his staff director, Paul Behrends, violated the Magnitsky Act when they tried to get Russia's deputy general prosecutor, Victor Grin, removed from the US sanctions list last year.
The complaint was filed by US financier Bill Browder, the founder of Hermitage Capital Management, who spearheaded the Magnitsky Act in 2012 to punish Russian officials suspected of being involved in the death of his account, Sergey Magnitsky.
Magnitsky uncovered a $230 million tax fraud scheme in 2008 when he was working for Hermitage that implicated high-level Kremlin officials and allies of President Vladimir Putin. He was later thrown in jail by the same Interior Ministry officers he testified against during criminal proceedings to punish those involved in the tax scheme, Browder said in 2015, and died in custody after being held for 358 days.
The complaint Browder filed on July 21 alleges that Rohrabacher "made personal introductions for lobbyists advocating the Russian government's and Grin's position against the Magnitsky Act." Those people, according to the complaint, include Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya and Russian-American lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin - both of whom attended a meeting with Donald Trump Jr. at Trump Tower last June to discuss a possible repeal of the Magnitsky Act.
Donald Trump (R-Buffoon) intends to nominate Republican Kansas Governor Sam Brownback (R-Dumbass) as ambassador at large for international religious freedom, the White House said on Wednesday.
Brownback, who previously served in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, would assume the position created in the State Department by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, of which he was one of the key sponsors.
In 2015, Brownback issued an executive order protecting the religious freedom of clergy and organizations that opposed same-sex marriage as Kansas began to comply with the landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court legalizing gay marriage.
"We ... recognize that religious liberty is at the heart of who we are as Kansans and Americans, and should be protected," Brownback, governor since 2011, said at the time of the order. He was re-elected in 2014 and is not eligible to serve a third consecutive term.
Donald Trump (R-Delusional) has cast aside stories about White House infighting, describing the leaks as employees bickering over "who loves me the most".
In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Mr Trump said his Justice Department should start cracking down on federal employees who leak to the media - except those who have positive things to say about him.
"Number one, they should go after the leakers in intelligence," he said. "I don't mean the White House stuff where they're fighting over who loves me the most, OK? It's just stupid people doing that."
It's unclear which stories Mr Trump was referencing in his comments, which elicited laughter from the room. But the press has been replete with stories about White House intrigue in recent days, as the Trump administration has undergone a dramatic staffing shakeup.
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wrote:
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
